HUD secretary tours two Syracuse neighborhoods

By Maureen Nolan / The Post-Standard
October 23, 2009, 4:15PM

Federal Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan got a tour today of Syracuse’s Near West and North sides at the request of U.S. Senator Charles Schumer and Congressman Dan Maffei last Friday.

Schumer, standing in front of a formerly vacant, newly renovated house on Marcellus Street, said he wanted Donovan to see first hand the challenges and promise of Syracuse and its neighborhoods. The Near Westside is marred by vacant and abandoned properties, but also are the targets of housing rehabilitation efforts. The Marcellus Street home was redone under the umbrella of the Near Westside Initiative.

Schumer was stumping for The Community Regeneration, Sustainability, and Innovation Act, which he announced in April at the corner of Marcellus and Wyoming streets. The bill has been introduced in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

If it passes, Schumer said, it could mean money to fight Syracuse’s plague of vacant houses, develop green infrastructure and create a comprehensive strategy to fight blight. The city has nearly 1,600 vacant properties.

Schumer said the legislation would create a three-year, $300 million demonstration project and he and Maffei would make sure Syracuse gets selected for it.